Romans 14.20a-Paul Commands Strong To Continue Not Tearing Down The Spirit's Work Because Of And For The Sake Of Exercising Their Freedom
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday April 18, 2010
Romans: Romans 14:20a-Paul Commands Strong To Continue Not Tearing Down The Work Of The Spirit Because Of And For The Sake Of Exercising Their Freedom
Lesson # 488
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 14:20.
This morning we will begin a study of Romans 14:20 by noting Paul instructing the strong to continue making it their habit of not tearing down the work of the Spirit in the life of the weak believer and the entire local assembly because of and for the sake of exercising their freedom from the dietary regulations in the Law.
Tuesday we will complete the verse by noting the apostle instructing the strong that everything is indeed clean but it is wrong for them to make the weak stumble because of what he eats.
Romans 14:20, “Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense.”
“Do not tear down” is composed of the negative particle me (μή) (me), “not” and the second person singular present active imperative form of the verb kataluo (καταλύω) (ka-tah-lee-owe), “do tear down.”
The verb kataluo means “to tear down” and is used in a figurative sense of the strong believer tearing down the work of the Holy Spirit in the weak believer and in the local assembly as a whole by exercising his freedom in Christ with respect to food without regard for the weak’s convictions.
This word does not mean “to destroy” in this context as the NET Bible, ESV and NIV render the word but rather it means “to tear down” and this is confirmed by the fact that it stands in direct contrast with the noun oikodome, “which produces edification” that appears in Romans 14:19.
The latter speaks of building something up involving a process, thus kataluo means “to tear down” and not “destroy” since the former meaning denotes reversing the process of construction whereas the latter does not and denotes the ruin of a structure and putting it out of existence.
The NASB and the Holman Christian Standard Bible render kataluo accurately since it pays attention to the context in that they recognize that the word stands in contrast to oikodome in verse 19, which denotes a process, thus they interpret the former as being a process as well.
As was the case with the verb apollumi in verse 15, this verb kataluo in verse 20 should never be translated “destroy” since this translation has the connotation of putting out of existence.
Therefore, in Romans 14:20, the verb kataluo means “to tear down” and is used in a figurative sense of the strong believer tearing down the work of the Holy Spirit in the weak believer and in the local assembly as a whole by exercising his freedom without regard for the weak’s convictions.
The word denotes reversing a process of construction indicating that by the strong exercising their freedom without regard for the weak’s convictions, they would be “tearing down” the work and efforts of the Holy Spirit in the weak believer’s life of conforming them into the image of Christ.
The strong would be tearing down the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the weak believer by exercising their freedom without regard for their convictions because they would be causing the weak to lose fellowship with God, thus, they would be hindering the Spirit’s work of conforming them into the image of Christ.
By causing the weak to lose fellowship, they would thus be hindering the development of the weak believer’s spiritual health and strength and esteem.
It would also hurt their fellowship with the weak in that it would cause the weak to turn away from the strong and not experience the companionship aspect of Christian fellowship, which we noted in verse 19 promotes spiritual growth in the weak believer.
Consequently, the strong are tearing down the work of the Spirit in the local assembly as a whole since they are disturbing the unity and fellowship in the local assembly by exercising their freedom inconsiderately.
So by using this verb kataluo in verse 20, Paul is carrying on the metaphor of oikodome in verse 19 and in fact he does not use apollumi in verse 20 but rather kataluo because he wants to sustain this metaphor.
The meaning of kataluo is negated by the negative particle me, “not” indicating that the strong must continue not tearing down the work of the Spirit in the life of the weak and consequently His work in the local assembly in maintaining unity.
Paul employs me and not ouk since the latter is much stronger than the former and would indicate that the believers who were strong were in fact tearing down the work of the Spirit in the weak and the local assembly as a whole.
Therefore, the particle me indicates that this has not taken place but is used with the verb kataluo to prohibit in the future the strong believers in Rome from doing this.
Paul’s statements in Romans 15:14-15 further support this interpretation.
The present imperative form of the verb is a “customary present imperative” whose force is for the strong to simply “continue making it their habit of” not tearing down the work of the Spirit in the life of the weak believer and the local assembly.
Again, Paul’s statements in Romans 15:14-15 indicate that the strong were in fact already obeying this prohibition.
Therefore, the present imperative form of the verb indicates that Paul’s command is simply giving the strong a reminder to continue doing what they were doing and was designed to protect their fellowship with God and with the weak and their testimony among the unsaved.
Romans 14:20, “Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense.”
“The work of God” is composed of the articular accusative neuter singular form of the noun ergon (ἒργον) (er-gone), “the work” and the articular genitive masculine singular form of the noun theos (θεός) (thay-oce), “of God.”
The noun ergon is in the singular and means “the work” and refers to work or activity.
The noun theos refers to the Holy Spirit since the Scriptures teach that He is the member of the Trinity that executes the Father’s plan in the believer and appropriates the work of Christ for the believer and is active in conforming the believer into the image of Christ.
Therefore, the noun ergon, “work” refers to all of the Spirit’s various ministries on behalf of the believer after their conversion.
God the Holy Spirit’s post-salvation ministries on behalf of the believer: (1) Empowers the believer to execute the plan of God (Jo. 14:16, 26; Ga. 5:16, 25; Eph. 5:18; Phlp. 2:13). (2) Reproduces Christ-like character in the believer (Ga. 4:19; 5:5, 16-23). (3) Teaches the believer the doctrines of Christ (Jo. 14:26; 1 Co. 2:10-16; 1 Jo. 2:20, 27). (4) Convicts the believer of sin (Jo. 16:7-11; Rm. 8:4-14; Eph. 4:30; 1 Th. 5:18). (5) Leads the believer in worshipping the Father (Jo. 4:24; Phlp. 3:3; Rm. 8:4-13). (6) Promotes spiritual maturity (Ga. 5:1-5; He. 5:11-6:6). (7) Applies truth to the believer’s experience (Jo. 14:26; Rm. 8:16; Eph. 6:18). (8) Gives power to the believer’s prayer life (Jo. 15:7; Eph. 6:18; Jude 20). (9) Promotes worship of God (Jo. 4:23-24; Eph. 5:18-21; Phlp. 3:3; Is. 59:1-2). (10) Gives capacity, burden and direction for witnessing (Ac. 1:8; 1 Th. 1:5). (11) Gives capacity for ministry (1 Co. 1:12-14). (12) Provides fellowship for the believer (2 Co. 13:14; Phlp. 2:1).
“For the sake of food” indicates that the strong must not tear down the work of the Spirit in the life of the weak believer because of and for the purpose of exercising their freedom with respect to food.
This prepositional phrase is in the emphatic position of the prohibition emphasizing with the strong that they are not to tear down the work of the Spirit in the life of the weak believer because of and for the sake of something as inconsequential as food no less.